TGIF

I'm feeling pretty good today! Trying not to focus on all the negativity around me and just focus on the positive. I started off this morning hurrying around and stressing over so many things to do. Then I just stopped in my tracks, took a deep breath, and said a quick prayer. And I immediately felt better and my mood seemed to almost instantly change. The weather was absolutely beautiful here today in The Peach State. So instead of working inside the house, I worked outside most of the day and soaked up some good old vitamin D. Then I went to work for my friend Zach as his nurses assistant. As I worked him out doing stretching excersizes, I worked on my own arms and legs. He was looking at me like I was crazy. (He can't speak right now) So I explained to him that I was trying to get in some excersize too and he gave me a good solid blink. (Which means okay or yes) So we both got a pretty good workout on our arms and legs. I made a quick lunch afterward of salad greens with Feta and a greek vinagrette. And I had a couple of apple slices. Not exactly the lunch I would like to have ate. But still filling and good. Now I'm awaiting the hubby to get home so we can go out for dinner. TGIF!!!!!!

“This is my command - be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go”
(Joshua 1:9, NLT)

This scripture brought me comfort today so I just wanted to share. :)

Stress Eating

Sorry I haven't posted in almost a week. It's been a crazy past few days. We're in the process of getting ready to move next month. So I've been working really hard on getting all of our clothes cleaned out. I told myself that I'm only gonna keep the clothes that I can fit into right now. That way it will be more of an incentive to push myself to lose more weight. Then I will be able to go on a shopping spree to get some new ones! YAY! But as I was cleaning and sorting thru things, I found a few pairs of Capris that I wore last summer. I put one of them on and they barely buttoned! I didn't think I had put on that much weight since last year. But obviously it snuck up on me at some point or another. I was totally disgusted with myself. Then that got me thinking. I've put on "a little extra weight" every year since I was in my teens. I've never stayed at the same weight. It just keeps going higher and higher each year. So I have got to take serious control of myself THIS YEAR or else I'm gonna weigh 500 pounds one day. And Lord knows I don't want to do that. When I analyze myself and my daily eating habits, I don't think I eat too bad. I eat a good breakfast every morning to start off my day. Then I usually have a mid morning snack to tide me over til lunch. Then I'll have lunch and dinner. And my meals are usually pretty well balanced. And the only time I over eat is when I'm stressed out. Then I tend to eat a little too much if something is bothering me. Like I may just eat a really large portion of something when half of it actually filled me up. I guess that's what stress eating is. And I've noticed lately that as I'm conciously trying to eat healthier, that I seem to feel hungry all the time. And I don't understand why. I drink tons and tons of water trying to "trick" myself into thinking I'm not hungry. So what's up with that? It's got to be all in my mind. Maybe I'm just going crazy after all.....

Friendly Therapy

With so much going on right now I needed a little therapy session with my friend. (AKA~ "Venting til I feel better). So we met up for dinner last night and I blabbed away. Why is it that we feel so much better after a good vent? I hate holding anything inside and feel like I will just burst if I can't get something off my chest. Thank God for good girlfriends! What would we do without them? She is my "go to girl" for everything. And I do mean everything! We shared a plate of Cheese Fries (Yeah, Yeah, I know. NOT a healthy diet choice). But you have to let yourself splurge once in awhile or else you'll go crazy. Or at least that's how I feel. Then we went to the mall afterwards and stopped by the Cookie Company. Anything Chocolate always makes me feel better! So I had a cookie too. But to make up for it I rode my bike this morning for an hour. And I took the mostly uphill route which killed my poor calves. But it felt good too. The burn let's you know that what you did worked. Burn baby burn! LOL. And I ate really good today to help make up for it too. I had Oatmeal and 2 Apple slices for breakfast, a cup of Yogurt for a snack, Some salad greens with feta tossed in a lite vinegrette for lunch and for dinner I'm having a Turkey Sub from Subway. I think that's a pretty good day for me. And tonight after dinner I'm taking Dax (my dog) on a walk around the neighborhood. Then maybe if I'm really feeling good, I'll pop in my Jillian Michaels DVD and do one of her work outs. We'll see..... :P

                                                                 

In The Midst Of The Storm

We all have things going on in our lives each and everyday that may stress us out. But I'm choosing not to stress anymore! I realize that some things are just bigger than I can handle on my own. And I need to learn to refocus myself and turn to prayer more rather than stressing day in and day out. I know that when I fully trust in God, everything will be okay. But yet I still try to "Fix" everything on my own without giving it to him to first. I'm gonna give it all to him and let him do his work. :)

I wanted to share this with you all because this is what really got me thinking and put things in perspective for me.



TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
“...He sends rain on the just and the unjust alike”
(Matthew 5:45, NLT)


TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria
We all have opportunities to get upset and live stressed out. The storms of life
come to every person. No matter how good a person you are, you’re going to have some “rain” in your life. When these storms come, a lot people use their faith to try to control their circumstances. But I’ve found it’s better to use my
faith to control myself in the midst of my circumstances. I know that if I can
just remain stable in the storms of life and stay in peace, that’s what allows
God to act on my behalf. God never said that we wouldn’t have difficulties, but He did promise we could have peace in the midst of the storms. When you face adversities, one of the most powerful things you can do is simply stay calm. When you are at peace, you are displaying your faith in God. By your actions you’re saying, “God, I know You’re still on the throne. I know You’re bigger than this problem.” So keep peace in the midst of your storms today. Trust that He is working behind the scenes. Keep your heart open to Him because soon He will deliver you!

A PRAYER FOR TODAY
Father God, thank You for peace in the midst of the storms of life. I choose to
hold my peace knowing that You are working behind the scenes. I trust You, I
trust Your timing, and I trust that You are working everything together for my
good because You love me. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
- Joel & Victoria Osteen

Good Old Kick In The A**

I've been sick the past couple of days and I have done nothing. I mean absolutely nothing (that's considered excersize). I have watched more T.V in these past few days than I probably have in the past year. Oh, and I can probably tell you about every Lifetime movie ever made. Because I watched them all. LOL! I cleaned out our closets and drawers, (Ok maybe that can count for a little excersize) I caught up my journal, I read a bizillion blogs, I tried some new recipes, and that's about it. I would say I slept alot like most sick people do. But I have had a very hard time sleeping lately. So here it is 3:29 am when I should be asleep, but I'm not. So I decided to work a little and catch up on here about my very boring weekend. I did actually leave the house today though which was great. My dog (Dax) turned 5 years old today. Or I guess 35 in dog years? Anyways, me and my hubby have this sort of tradition where every year on his birthday we go out and have a steak for dinner. Then we bring home the birthday boy our leftovers. So we headed out to Longhorn Steak House tonight to partake in some feasting. And OMG was it good! Now I'm gonna need a good old kick in the a** to get my butt back in gear tomorrow. After being so lazy for a few days, I have alot of working out to catch up on. I think I will start with a bike ride in the morning. It's supposed to be pretty here tomorrow so it shouldn't be too cold. But we'll see....

P.S~ Here's a picture of the birthday brat.

My thoughts and prayers go out tonight for all the Tsunami victims in Japan.
I've been watching videos on CNN.com all day because I've been bed ridden with some type of Flu bug and I'm in total shock. This is absolutely horrible...

:(

YUMMY Turkey Chili

One of my wonderful blogger friends sent me this recipe so I tried it out last night. (She got it from The 17 Day Diet). It is super easy, which is great for someone like me who isn't Rachel Ray in the kitchen. And it's absolutely delicious and very filling. Since I loved it so much, I thought I would share it with everyone else.

2 lbs lean ground turkey
1 onion
1 14-15 oz. cans black beans
1 14-15 oz. cans kidney beans
salt, pepper, chili powder to taste

Cook the meat and onion together so that the onions are really well-done.
Then add the beans and seasoning. You then let this all simmer for 20 minutes.. Then Voila!

(Or if your like me and KC you can't wait the 20 minutes to dig into a bowl. So just make sure the beans are warmed through then you can go ahead and eat.)

~All About Me~

I keep seeing all these little survey things and thought I would do one to let you all know a little more about me.

Age: 36
Bed size: Queen
Chore you hate: Laundry and Grocery Shopping!!!!
Dogs or Cats: Dog~ A feisty male Chihuahua named Dax.
Fave color: Turquoise Blue
Gold or silver:  Silver
Instruments I play: A mean Air Guitar....LOL
Job Title: I have alot of them
Kids: None. Can't have babies. :(
Live: Georgia
Nicknames: Jewels ~or~ Ju Ju Beans
Pet peeve: Cocky Men, Dirty Sinks, People who smack their Gum, White People with Dread Locks, And many, many more... :O
Quote from a movie: "And so the lion fell in love with the lamb."
Right or left handed: Right
Siblings: 3 Sisters
Time you wake up: I try to get up by 7am, but it varies alot depending on how late I stayed up the night before.
Underwear: What about them? I do wear them!
Veggie you dislike: Brussel Sprouts and Asparagus
What makes you run late: I'm usually early for everything
Yummy food you make:  Pigs in a Blanket
Favorite Movie from Childhood:  Goonies!!!!
Favorite Movie as an Adult: The Notebook
Favorite Book:  Twilight (Seriously)...
Favorite Food:  Pizza and Steak
Hobbies: Photography, Traveling. Reading, Blogging, Swimming
Favorite Vacation Spot: Navarre Beach Florida, or The Bahamas
Something You Collect: Anything Hello Kitty
Any Tattoos: Blue Daisy on my Left Foot, and A Small Hello Kitty on Shoulder Blade.
Something you Love: Shopping and Taking Pictures
Someone you Love: My Hubby <3
Favorite Car: Range Rover!!!! (But I drive a Toyota Corolla) UGH.
Favorite Sport: College Football, Roller Derby
Beer or Wine: Wine, but only once in blue moon.
Bags or Shoes: OMG BOTH!!!! No way to choose between the two.

Hope I didn't bore you!  Tee Hee.....

Fabulous Deals and Freebies....

Hey guys~ Please make sure you check out my page for Fabulous Deals and Freebies! There are some really cool things are there right now.....

:)

Learning to Cook

I've been with my hubby since we were both 15 years old. We got married when I was 25 and worked for as a Marketing assistant. My husband owned his own Roofing Company and we both worked long and crazy hours. So I've never been one to cook alot. It has just always been easier and faster to eat out. He has never seemed to mind. But I do try to make a good home cooked meal for him once in awhile. However all that's about to change and I'm scared to death. We are moving on April 1st to a house that's in a Lake community way out in the boonies. So, I will have to no choice other than to cook at home every day. At least during the week anyways. And like I said before, I don't cook that much. And the things I do make are easy dishes. I've always made Spaghetti because it's so easy and cheap. I've made Meat Loaf and Lasagna, Tacos and Burritos, etc. But now that I have totally changed the way I eat, I really need to expand my culinary skills. But where do I even start? I'm not even sure if I know how to make anything that isn't loaded with fat or way too many calories. I know that I need to stick to lean cuts of meat and try to grill it. But what can I make to go with the meats? Like I've never really made an actual "healthy" meal by myself and I'm terrorified! But I have the rest of this month to start getting together more healthy recipes. So if anyone has any suggestions, PLEASE feel free to comment and send them to me.  :)

Numb....

I have alot going on right now. Nothing's wrong with me and my hubby, we're great. But it involves certain people in our lives. And their causing some major stress on us. And do you know what happens when I get stressed? I EAT! And eat. And eat. I swore I would never do that again, (this time around).  But I know and admit that I have a pattern of doing it. I just can't screw up this time! I've been doing SO good lately. But the situation is just getting worse. And all I want to do is go crawl in my bed with a tub of Blue Bell Birthday Cake Ice Cream and watch movies all day. I guess I am "trying" to act like what's going on around me isn't really happening. But it is, and it's killing me inside. I can't really divuldge too many details because the people this involves could possibly read this. Just know that I need some serious motivation right now to get my head back on straight. I haven't went on any "binge" yet but I feel it coming. UGH. Why do I do this to myself and let what other people do bring me down.....

Does this make me look fat?

 I would NEVER ask this question. First of all, because I know the answer to the freaking question. Duh! And second, I will know that who ever I am asking would be lying to me if they said no. So this got me thinking. (Which can be slightly dangerous at times). But I was wondering if any of my overweight friends and family ever ask this question to other people. Almost all of them immediately said no! Well why is that? Because we know we're fat and don't need anyone pointing out that a certain outfit may make us look even worse. So what gets me is when all the skinny people ask this question, knowing damn well what the persons response is going to be. It's like they love to hear, No, you could never look fat, your SOOO skinny. UGH. I have a niece who has the body of a super model and she's tall too. And I swear everytime we would get ready to go somewhere she always asks me that. My reply is always, "Please don't worry about it honey, you'll be standing next to me".  She doesn't find my answer funny, but I do!

Anyways, this is just a pet peeve of mine and I had to "vent" a little. I overheard someone ask this earlier today who obviously knew she didn't look fat. Because if she really thought she looked fat, then why the heck was she half naked? HMMM....People.....?